GHOSTBUSTERS: PPE 7
by Q-CREW
Summary: It's a cold time in the hot town when mother nature takes a step backward and spring becomes winter!


**FREEHOLD, NJ**  
A refrigerated truck pulls up outside the loading dock of the geology lab where four scientists wait with a table with wheels. The driver and passenger get out, quickly run to the back and open the doors to reveal a large chunk of ice waiting inside.

Moments later, the chunk is wheeled through the facility into a prepared lab set at a temperature to keep the melting rate at the lowest possible level. Another team of scientists wait in specialized insulated lab suits, ready to examine the creature barely visible in the middle of the opaque block.

"Our team in the Arctic dug this up during one of their excavations," one of the scientists says, looking over some equipment.

"What do you think they found?" the youngest in the room asks, adjusting his glasses.

"I dunno, Captain America?" another scientist quips.

"Well, we'll soon find out. Let's get ready." They all turn towards their individual stations to ready the devices they'll need to examine their new specimen. Unseen by them, however, is the block of ice begins to deteriorate as if it were melting rapidly. Strangely, instead of pooling on the table or the floor in a puddle, the ice seems to be pulling itself inward towards the object. The scientists turn with their instruments in hand, only to see the ice completely gone and the object inside revealed.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

**GHOSTBUSTERS  
PROFESSIONAL PARANORMAL ELIMINATORS  
#7  
"SNOWED"**

CHILLY CHRIS BUCHNER-Writer & Chief  
REFRIGERATED ROLANDO MUNOZ-Artistry  
BRISK BEN KING-Inks, Letters & Edits  
ARCTIC ADAM BESTLER-Colors  
DRAFTY DAN LIBERG-Edits  
FRIGID FRITZ BAUGH-Covers

* * *

"_Open your windows and break out the shorts, New York; spring is here and with it are the hottest temperatures recorded for this time of year. Today, we'll be seeing a high of 75 without a cloud in the sky and a low of only 63 tonight. Tomorrow, you can expect cooler temperatures but not by much as we'll reach a high of 70. Only during the night will we reach more suitable spring temperatures as we're looking at 55. Now for your weekend outlook…"_

"HA! Some 'heat wave'." Peter says, commenting on the weather report from the radio as he stands over Ecto-1 in the firehouse garage bay. He leans on the fender with the hood open, the car up on jacks. "It's been like this all winter. We only got what, one major snow storm?" Peter says

"Tell me about it," Ray agrees from underneath the car, working in his shorts and t-shirt. "Although we did have that blizzard…"

"Pfft, some blizzard. We had worse back in '96. Remember that? You needed construction vehicles to dig out parking lots!"

"Well, that's global warming for you, I guess. Hand me a 3/8ths wrench." Peter reaches over into the toolbox for the wrench and hands it down to Ray.

"Not to mention weathermen are almost ALWAYS wrong! You'd think with all the technology today they'd have a clue. I mean, how hard is it to do their job? Really? All they do is stand in front of a screen, read the Teleprompters and go 'In Nevada, our nation's high is at 79 today. Out in California, they're gonna have some warm weather tomorrow, gang wars, and some VERY overpriced real estate. Up in the Pacific Northwest, as you can see, they're gonna have some very, very tall trees and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' With all that done for them you'd at least think they'd find SOME way to be RIGHT."

"When you're right, Peter, you're right. Hand me the crescent wrench." At the other end of the garage bay, the phone on Janine's desk rings.

"Ghostbusters," she answers. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay, we'll get right on it." She hangs up the phone and slams down on the button to activate the bell in the firehouse.

"We got a call, ready to move?" Peter asks. Ray grabs Ecto's side and pushes himself out.

"Clear!" he says. Peter twists the handle on the jack and the car is back on the ground. Winston slides down the pole closest to Janine's desk and takes the job sheet from her before heading over to Ecto. Egon slides down from his lab and looks over at Janine waving at him.

"Don't forget, we have tickets to the opera tonight!"

"Uh, right…" he says, not wanting to reveal that he had forgotten about their date due to his recent experiment. Ray and Peter quickly suit up and join the others in the car. Ray starts it up as the doors begin to open. he throws the car in gear and slams on the pedal, roaring out of the firehouse. Suddenly, he slams on the brakes, causing the car to skid and spin on the ice outside. Ray tries to regain control as the guys inside yell out in fear of their lives. Fortunately, their spin was brought to a halt as abrupt as it began when Ecto's rear fender slams into the lamppost across the street.

"Nice driving, Ray," Peter gripes.

"It wasn't my fault…it was the ice," Ray says defensively.

"Don't be silly, Ray," Egon starts, "there can't be ice in 70 degree weather."

"Uh, Egon…" Winston says, pointing out the window. The Ghostbusters open the doors and get out of Ecto-1 to look around in stunned silence. Snow falls growing progressively stronger. The streets are already coated in a thin sheet of ice and slush with cars skidding on the avenue as if it had been snowing for quite some time.

"What in the hell? It was a bright sunny day minutes ago!" Peter exclaims, his breath visible as he speaks.

"Could the weather report have been wrong?" Ray asks.

"Not likely," Egon answers, looking at his PKE Meter with the wings extended. "I'm detecting ectoplasmic traces on the snow."

"Ghost snow? That's a new one," Peter states. Ray shivers as a cold breeze blows past him.

"Okay, first thing we've got to do is get back inside and into our thermal gear." They all get back in the car and Ray puts it in gear. He hits the gas but the car refuses to move, the rear wheels skidding on the snow. "Correction, the first thing we've got to do is get the shovels and dig the car out." The guys groan.

"_A strange phenomenon has gripped New York as the unusually warm spring weather has turned into an unusually massive blizzard. The sudden snow has unprepared New Yorkers taken completely by surprise as people dressed for warm weather find themselves freezing. Several accidents have been reported around the city due to the ice and snow, and reports are coming in that it's becoming too difficult to drive at all as the snow continues to get deeper and heavier. Officials are advising people to get to their homes as quickly as possible or stay inside and bundle up until this is over. We'll keep you updated on New York's winter nightmare as it develops."_

In Egon's lab, the boys gather around his computer as he types on it. Peter stretches, his back killing him from all the shoveling they had to do to get Ecto-1 back inside. Egon pulls up a radar map of the tri-state area.

"This is the city an hour ago," he says, indicating the clear digital map of the city. He presses a button and the image changes as a swell of various colors develop from the middle of Manhattan and rolls out to cover the whole island. The rest of the map remains clear. "This is now. As you can see, only Manhattan is suffering this sudden storm. Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, New Jersey, Staten Island are all still experiencing the warm spring weather we were this morning." He clicks the screen again and changes the map to show a color coded temperature guide. While the surrounding area is yellow for warm weather, Manhattan stays an icy blue.

"Wow, any idea what's causing this?" Winston asks.

"Well, we can definitely rule out the weather buzzard as he's still in the containment unit. But we do know that it's localized over Manhattan, so whatever it is it's here. Unfortunately, I can't get a decent read on it due to the normal PKE activity of the city."

"And the snow, having a PKE valence itself, will limit the effective ranges of the PKE Meters," Ray adds.

"Great, so all we gotta do is slush through a few feet of snow and search the whole island for a one particular spook," Winston groans.

"Darn, and me without my bobsled," Peter jokes. The phone in the lab beeps.

"Okay, which one of you wants to talk to the mayor?" Janine's voice asks over it.

"Probably about the snow," Ray says.

"Well, hate to think it's about joining our fan club. Who's turn is it to deal with him?" Peter asks, looking at Ray.

"Don't look at me, I did the vampire mimes." Peter turns to Winston, who holds up his hands.

"Nuh-uh. I already did when the Lincoln Tunnel started eating cars." Peter looks at Egon.

"Sorry, but the mayor specifically asked never to speak to me again." Peter sighs.

"Fine! I'll take it." Peter heads over to the fire pole and slides down.

"Oh, and Egon, you've got a call on line two," Janine says before hanging up the intercom. Egon gets up and heads for the phone.

"Hello? I see. Yes, of course. We'll be there as soon as possible."

"Be where?" Ray asks as Egon hangs up the phone.

"Freehold, New Jersey. I think we might have a lead on this entity."

"And how do you expect to get there in this?" Winston asks, pointing to the blizzard outside the window.

* * *

"I just want you to know this is crazy!" a very bundled up Ray yells back at Egon. He shivers as the wind whips over Ecto-2s windshield to hit him directly in what little is exposed of his face.

"Well, we can't drive anywhere, so this was the only other option! Just head directly for the water and we'll be out of it soon enough!"

* * *

**FREEHOLD, NJ**  
After almost half an hour, the lab came into view and Ray began Ecto-2's descent. He lands it and cuts the motor as Egon gets out to shake hands with the waiting scientist.

"Dr. Spengler? I'm Herb Travorie, I spoke with you on the phone?"

"Yes," Egon responds, opening his coat and shedding off the rest of his extra layers. "You said you knew about the cause of the weather problems in Manhattan?"

"Well, we don't know a lot, but let me show you." Moments later, Herb had led Egon and Ray into the heart of the facility where the prepared lab is located. They hold on to the wall as they walk, the floor turning slippery as they approach the doorway. Inside, Ray and Egon gasp as they see the walls, furnishings and equipment completely encased in ice. Around the room, technicians use heavy-duty heaters to slowly melt the ice away.

"What happened?" Ray asks. Herb starts walking down another corridor towards some stairs and the two follow.

"Well, we have an expedition currently ongoing in the Arctic where our team recently unearthed an object encased in a block of ice. As soon as the weather permitted, we airlifted the object down here to our facility to begin to study it. However, as we began final preparations to begin, the creature inside escaped and flash froze the entire lab and the scientists inside. We had to thaw them out before we contacted you."

"Understandable," Egon says. "What kind of creature?" Herb leads them into the observation booth of the lab with large windows overlooking the frozen area below. Along one wall are four monitors set up on a console with a technician sitting at the controls. Herb nods and the technician cues up videos on the monitors.

"This console is connected to the cameras in the lab, recording for posterity and records. This is what they caught before they went out." The monitors come on and show footage from various angles of the scene within the lab from earlier. The block of ice is on the table with the scientists getting ready to perform their examinations on it when it melts inward, revealing the creature inside; a giant bat-like ice creature! The revelation lasts but for a second as the cameras become iced up and cut out.

"A köld demon," Egon says matter-of-factly, pulling his cell phone out of his coat.

"A what?" Herb asks.

"A köld demon from Norse mythology," Ray answers. "They were malicious elemental phantoms that caused mischief by changing the weather and ruining harvests."

"According to Tobin's Online," Egon says reading the screen on the flip top, "the only way to defeat the demon is to encase it in natural ice. That's the only thing that negates its cold ability. More than likely it erected a protective shield around itself before becoming buried somehow in the ice and snow…"

"And when they cut it out, all that might've been left was a thin layer which melted and allowed the demon to go free!" Ray finishes.

"Precisely."

"Anything about their usual flight patterns?" Ray asks.

"It says here they like to perch on high points to cause their mischief."

"High points?"

"Manhattan has plenty of those," Herb adds.

"Indeed," Egon says, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, something catches his eye. He points towards a TV in the corner of the room. "What is that?" Herb turns around and looks at it. A digital map of the Eastern Seaboard is on the screen with a swell of green and yellow coloring moving across it from left to right.

"The…Weather Channel, it looks like," Herb says, seeing the logo in the corner of the screen.

"_This is the city an hour ago," he says, indicating the clear digital map of the city. He presses a button and the image changes as a swell of various colors develop from the middle of Manhattan and rolls out to cover the whole island. The rest of the map remains clear._

"Stupid!" Egon says, slapping his head.

"What?" Ray asks.

"I've been hanging around Peter too long, that's what! We've known where the demon is all this time!"

"How?"

"Look at how the storm system forms on the TV; it rides the jet stream as it forms causing it to move and shift. Remember the weather map in the lab? That storm system formed in the MIDDLE of Manhattan! We've know where it is the whole time and I just didn't realize it!" Egon disconnects from the web on his phone and presses the speed dial.

* * *

**MEANWHILE**  
The snow continues to fall heavily on the city with no sign of breaking. It has already completely covered the entire lower level of almost every building. Parks are buried, subways are jammed up, cars frozen in place. The city outside is virtually dead.

Inside the firehouse, the lights continue to flicker as they have been for some time. With all the snow, it's only natural the power would stand a chance of being knocked out. Some of the island has already gone dark Winston, Peter and Janine have heard on the news. Janine sits with her little TV at the desk wearing a borrowed winter uniform and jacket. Peter stands next to her wearing his own uniform and jacket, keeping his hands under his armpits to keep them warm as he watches the TV with her. Winston comes down the stairs and joins them, breathing on his gloved hands.

"It's getting brutal out there," he declares.

"It's New York, what did you expect?" Peter jokes. Suddenly, the lights flicker again before they go out, leaving the garage bay enveloped in darkness as the snow covers the windows. The dark doesn't last long as Peter clicks on the flashlight he had in his jacket. "Figured we might need it."

"Guys, what about the…" Janine starts, only to be cut off by the alarm from the basement. They all exchange a glance before running downstairs. The containment unit flashes its red light, filling the room with its glow as it counts down before the ghosts are able to bust free. "What're we gonna do!" Janine yells out over the noise.

"The backup generator should kick in!" Winston answers. They wait, but the alarm continues to sound.

"Um, Winston…it's not kicking!" Peter states. Winston quickly runs over to the generator next to the containment unit and looks it over. The basement begins to shake. "Uh, Winston? Any time now!" Winston stands up and kicks the generator. With that, it starts up and the alarm cuts off; the green light coming back on and signifying everything was running normal again.

"Whew!" Winston says, wiping the first perspiration he's been able to have in a few hours off his head. "Too close."

"What happens if the generator decides to conk out?" Janine asks.

"Well, we always have a backup," Peter says, heading under the stairs and digging through the junk. He comes back out holding a familiar modified bicycle. Janine glares at him angrily. "Just kidding." He looks down as his phone rings. He places the bike on the floor and reaches under his jacket for his uniform zipper to retrieve the phone. "City morgue; you stab 'em we slab 'em."

* * *

**SOON**  
Two technicians attach two long tanks to either side of Ecto-2 using specialized clamps slapped together with materials from around the lab. Ray and Egon look on as they work.

"The liquid nitrogen is secure," Herb tells them. "You sure two tanks are going to be enough?"

"They'll have to be," Egon says, "anymore weight would severely compromise Ecto-2's maneuverability."

"And we're gonna need to move as much as possible," Ray adds, shaking Herb's hand before heading over to the copter. Herb shakes Egon's hand next.

"Thanks for the help," Egon says to him.

"Good luck. Give me a call when this is over, I've some theories I'd love to discuss with you."

"Right," Egon responds before joining Ray.

* * *

**THE FIREHOUSE**  
The plan was simple; Ecto-2 has only two seats and it's far too cold for anyone to ride on the wings. Emptying one of the larger metallic cabinets in Egon's lab, Peter and Winston drilled four holes towards the top and bottom on either side. They then ran cables through the holes and tied them up tight before joining them together by a hook. Taking all the pillows, blankets and sheets they could find, they completely stuffed them around the sides of the cabinet's inside for cushioning and insulation. Finally, they carry the cabinet up to the roof where they wait for their ride with their make-shift passenger basket.

"You sure about this?" Winston asks, wondering if Egon's finally off his nut for suggesting a stunt like this in this weather. He looks over at Peter who stands off to the side on his phone. "Pete?" Peter quickly hangs up and turns to Winston.

"Yeah, sorry. Wrong number," Peter says as he stuffs the phone back into his jacket.

"You sure about this?" Winston asks again.

"Well, if this plan doesn't work at least we've already got our coffin."

"Not funny, man."

"Here comes our ride. Climb in." Ray struggles to bring Ecto-2 over the firehouse roof against the winds. He activates the winch and a cable and hook are lowered down. Winston takes it and connects it to the hook strapped to the cabinet and lets it go. Ray begins to reel the line back in as Winston lays down next to Peter, shutting the doors over them while struggling to make sufficient room for both them and their proton packs. Peter uses the bar connected to the handle inside to turn it and lock the doors together. Ecto-2 takes off with the cabinet hanging under it.

"Where to, Egon?" Ray asks.

"To exactly where the map was showing us," Egon responds.

* * *

**THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING**  
High atop the massive antenna, the köld demon sits perched looking down on the white city. It flaps its wings, sending a massive wind gust across the island and letting the snow fall even heavier. This is a strange new world this primitive beast has been awoken into, and without Norse mages to stop it this time, it can wreak havoc on humanity undaunted and claim this world as its own. But, something's wrong. It perks up as it feels the wind currents shifting not by its own hand, but by some outside force.

Using its enhanced eyesight, it focuses through the storm to see Ecto-2 rapidly approaching while fighting the wind currents. The köld demon roars and begins to flap furiously, creating gale force winds. Ecto-2 bucks back, Ray struggling to keep it level and keep the cabinet from banging into any buildings.

"I think we've been spotted!" he shouts, forcing the controls down.

"Get us in low, Ray!" Egon says. "We have to drop Winston and Peter!"

"Hang on!" Ray pulls up on the controls and sends the copter into a flip. Winston and Peter hold against the sides of the cabinet to keep from being tossed about, screaming all the time. Ray pulls out of the flip and speeds down and out of the air stream. He pulls up to head straight for the side of the building, but a bit too fast.

"Uh, Ray, you want to pull up now? Ray? RAY!" At the last moment, Ray pulls up fast and Ecto-2 climbs the side of the building, the wheels lightly touching the side and the cabinet banging slightly against it and rattling the cargo inside. The köld demon lifts off its perch and dives down at Ecto-2.

"Looks like we've made it mad!" Ray says. Egon flips out a panel from the back of Ray's seat to reveal a console with a screen with a target design in the middle, buttons and a small joystick with a button on top; one of many upgrades Egon has been working on over the years. He grabs the joystick and an image of the demon appears in the screen. As soon as its lined up with the target, he presses the button and the proton cannon on the front of Ecto-2 fires, knocking the demon off its path.

"Egon, drop 'em!" Ray calls back just as Ecto-2 reaches the observation deck. He activates the winch as Egon pulls his proton gun and leans over, blasting the cable. The cabinet falls onto the observation deck and lands in the snow that completely fills it, cushioning the fall. Peter pulls the latch and they kick the doors open, quickly scrambling out of that nightmare.

"Let's not do that again!" Winston says, trying to get his heart to slow down.

"I agree…" They both get knocked over by the force of wind following the demon as it blows up past the observation deck after Ecto-2. "Ray, you got a bogie on your six," Peter says into his radio.

"Right," Ray says. "We're swinging back your way…get ready!" Ray pulls up and flips over the demon as it blows past, the wind shaking it a bit. As expected the demon follows them, getting closer. "Ready to fire one!" Ray calls back. Egon gets his hand on the release lever of the clamps that hold the left canister.

"Ready!" Rays slows up just enough to let the demon get close as they reach the building again. Down below, Peter and Winston stand with their proton guns aimed high at the battle above them, ready to blast a canister as soon as it was released. The hope was that the released contents would sufficiently cover the demon and put it back into stasis long enough to either put it somewhere safe or figure out how to defeat it for good.

Just as the demon is about to nab them, Ray pulls up hard again and Egon releases the canister. Just before the others can fire on it and douse the demon with the freezing contents inside, the demon wised up and anticipated the flip. It grabs Ecto-2's tail and rips it off.

"Oh hell…" Winston exclaims as Ecto-2 enters into a dive.

"Hang on!" Ray shouts as he tries his best to fight gravity and head for the observation deck. Ecto-2 crashes through the fence surrounding the ledge ripping one of the wings off and then into the building itself, coming to a rest on the snow on its side. Peter and Winston run over as quickly as they can to check on them.

"Guys, you alright!" Peter asks. Ray and Egon both groan signaling they were alive but in a lot of pain. Winston looks up when he hears the demon roar above them.

"Let's get them out quick!" They reach in, undo their belts and pull them out of the seats and down just as the demon buzzes by over their heads, kicking up some of the snow into their faces.

"I have an idea!" Peter declares. "Get them around the corner!" He and Winston scramble up and drag their colleagues to the other side of the deck as the demon turns around and makes a return dive. Peter steps out near the corner of the building with his proton gun ready. He squints through the goggles he wears to try and make out the icy creature through the heavy snowfall. He watches as it gets closer and closer.

C'mon… he thinks, just a little more… The demon lowers its talons and opens its feet like an eagle about to scoop up its prey. "NOW!" Peter fires and nails the other canister still attached to Ecto-2. He dives as the beam connects and the canister and Ecto-2 explode just as the demon flies past and disappears into the blast. When it comes out, it's frozen in its pose and skids across the snow through the fence on the other side of the deck. The demon falls and flies through the air with enough propulsion to carry it all the way to the buildings on Broadway. It crashes into the side of the closest one and shatters, the pieces falling the rest of the way down to the lower rooftops and street below.

Peter and Winston look up as the snow stops falling and the clouds begin to disperse as quickly as they came. For the first time in a few hours the sun shines through at full force and the temperature begins to rise to its normal level.

"Oooh…did we win?" Ray asks, shielding his eyes from the sunlight. Winston crouches next to him and removes his goggles and helmet, exposing a small bruise on his forehead.

"Yeah, we got 'im good," he tells him as he helps him up. Peter helps Egon stand as they shakily find their balance. The Ghostbusters walk over to the edge of the observation deck and look out over the city, the snow twinkling in the light and creating a serene picture. They stand there, taking it all in.

"You know, I think it's gonna be a beautiful day," Ray says.

"I think so," Winston agrees.

"We should see if we can get Ecto-2 working enough to get us down," Egon states, breaking the moment.

"Uh, yeah…about Ecto-2…" Peter starts.

**THE END**

* * *

GHOSTBUSTERS: PROFESSIONAL PARANORMAL ELIMINATORS VOL. 1 NO. 7 APRIL, 2006 Q-CREW PRODUCTIONS. THE EVENTS DEPICTED ARE ENTIRELY FICTIONAL. ANY SIMULARITIES BETWEEN ANY LIVING OR DEAD PERSONS, BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATIONS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL. 


End file.
